Paris Makes All Public Transport Free to Combat Smog

Paris is currently experiencing its worst and most prolonged winter pollution in a decade. Residents are complaining that the choking haze that descended on the city is causing irritation in their eyes and throats.

According to Airparif agency which measures pollution and monitors air quality around Paris, this condition of air is due to the emissions from vehicles, from domestic wood fires, and also the windless conditions.

Amélie Fritz, a spokeswoman for Airparif, said, “We accumulated pollution with every day that went by, with nothing to disperse it, and in a very small volume of air.”

In order to check pollution, authorities have banned the use of fireplaces and lowered the speed limit. They temporarily banned half of the vehicles by allowing even numbered cars on one day and odd numbered cars on another day.

Not only that, they have made public transport and residential parking free to encourage people to use public transport. Attractive deals on electric car and bicycle rentals were also offered. To enforce the ban, about 750 police officers were dispatched to busy roads from 5:30 am onwards.

Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. You can also find Nidhi on Google+.